


Everything’s Comin’ Up Aces

by geralt_of_rivia



Series: i promise you kid that i give so much more than i get [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Baby Peter Parker, Endgame doesn’t exist, First Day of School, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kid Peter Parker, No Spoilers, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Pre Spider-Man, Separation Anxiety, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, pre Iron Man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 19:10:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19836682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geralt_of_rivia/pseuds/geralt_of_rivia
Summary: Tony had truthfully been spacing in and out, his eyes darting around the room at all the colorful posters of shapes and the alphabet. As he was snapped back to the reality that he was going to have to leave Peter in the classroom, he had to grip the back of the tiny chair tightly to keep himself from scooping Peter up and marching right out of the school. But Peter was more than ready, and Tony- Tony was not.orIt’s Peter’s first day of school and Tony seems to have a far more difficult time parting ways for a day than Peter does.





	Everything’s Comin’ Up Aces

From the very moment Peter had started kindergarten, he loved school. Tony, like most new parents, had been positively terrified leaving his sweet and shy baby in the hands of an essential stranger who had not only Peter to care for, but an additional fifteen kiddos. The father and son duo had always been within reach of each other in Peter’s toddler years, and Tony half expected Peter to struggle with the sudden separation. Peter would be in a new building, surrounded by new people, and Tony would be back at work - unable to really visit Peter for nearly seven hours. 

And yet, that didn’t seem to be the case. Peter was up bright and early his first day of kindergarten, and Tony had taken the entire day off of work so he could stay at Peter’s side as long as the little boy needed. Pepper would also be accompanying them, more so for moral support for Tony, but also because she too had a soft spot for the younger Stark and wouldn’t have missed his first day of school for the world. 

Tony was… a nervous wreck, truthfully, but as a backpack wearing, curly haired five-year old jumped onto his bed to wake him, he of course had to keep a calm persona for the sake of his son. 

“It’s school today!” Peter whispered loudly, tugging at his dad’s arm. “We gotta go to school!”

A glance at the clock illuminating the wall informed Tony it was only 5:30am, but that simply meant he could give the kid a solid breakfast and ensure Peter had all the school supplies he needed in his little Blues Clues backpack. 

“First day of school!” Tony sat up with a smile and combed his fingers through Peter’s curls. It appeared the boy had already attempted to style his hair himself, and had already dressed himself. His shorts didn’t quite match the little t-shirt he had chosen, but Tony wasn’t willing to interfere with his creative expression. Aside from the color atrocity, the outfit was something Peter could stay comfortable in. “And you’re all dressed and ready, such a big boy.” 

Peter had been eager to start learning all summer. He was already reading stories to Tony each night, practiced writing the alphabet and family member’s names almost on the daily. There wasn’t a doubt in Tony’s mind that Peter was ready to learn more - he just wasn’t sure if the boy was ready to be  _ without _ him. 

As Tony climbed from his bed and dressed himself, Peter scampered off down the hallway to the kitchen. Tony made the boy a large breakfast of pancakes and fruit, and Peter ate in record time. 

“We can’t be late, Daddy!” Peter informed his father as he mopped up the remaining syrup on his plate with a piece of pancake. “J- what time is it?” 

“The time is 6:30am, young master,” Jarvis pleasantly informed the boy. “There is still plenty of time before your school is to start.”

Tony slid Peter’s glass of milk closer toward the boy, “Yeah, Petey-Pie, where’s the fire? We’ve got plenty of time. We wanna make sure your tummy is nice and full so you don’t get hungry before lunch.” 

The elevator dinged from the living room as Pepper let herself into the penthouse, and Peter ignored his father in favor of racing over to hug the woman. 

“Aunt Pep!” Peter exclaimed as he latched onto her legs in a hug. “I get to go to school today!” 

Pepper was dressed in an orange pencil skirt with a white floral blouse, and Tony himself had sided on wearing a suit. They were perhaps a bit overdressed for the occasion, but it was a big day for Peter, and Tony wanted his kid to know that he was just as excited as Peter was. 

“You look so handsome!” Pepper crouched down to hug the boy, smiling at Tony over the top of Pete’s head. “You’re growing up so fast.”

“Maybe too fast,” Tony nodded in agreement, picking up Peter’s finished plate to carry it to the sink. “Let’s wait another year for school.” 

Peter rolled his eyes at his father as he pulled back from the hug, something he had without a doubt picked up from Pepper, “I can’t wait, Daddy, my teacher Miss. Stucker will be waiting for me!” 

“Well, if you insist…” Tony sighed dramatically. “You better go get your teeth brushed then, hmm?”

“Oh yeah!” Peter gasped, and then he was racing off to the bathroom, his backpack still in tote. 

Pepper chuckled at the boy, standing from where she had crouched to help Tony finish cleaning up from breakfast. 

“And how are you doing this morning?” she asked Tony quietly, giving his shoulder a pat as she placed a plate into the sink. 

Tony shrugged, “Oh me? I’m a nervous wreck, but minor details.”

It earned him a fond laugh, and Pepper caught Tony’s elbow before he could head off to the bathroom to check on Peter, “He’s gonna be fine, Tones. He’s so excited, I’m sure he’ll love it.” 

“It’s just going to be different for him, is all,” Tony sighed. “Not having me just downstairs if he needs me…” 

“Different for  _ both _ of you,” Pepper hummed. “I’ve been wondering all week who it was going to be harder on. I’m starting to think it might be a bit rougher for you, Papa Bear. It’ll be good for both of you. You’re not even emptying the nest, it’s not like he’s going off to college.”

Tony’s heart spasmed at the thought, “Let’s not touch that base yet, that’s years away.” 

Peter came bounding back into the room, “Teeth are brushed! Is it time to leave?” 

“Are you wearing those shoes without socks, mister?” Tony eyed the boy up and down. “Don’t want blisters, now.” 

The boy’s only response was a deep groan before he raced back down the hallway. They still had about an hour before school started, but Tony figured they could get there a little earlier and get Pete’s desk and supplies all set up. Happy was chauffeuring them there despite Tony insisting they could go alone for the occasion. It seemed Pepper wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to miss out on Pete’s first day. Rhodey had fought tooth and nail to be able to attend as well, but four people showing up in the classroom seemed… excessive, and he’d had important meetings regardless. Thus, the man had sided on visiting his nephew after school. 

Just as Tony finished loading the dishwasher, with Pepper idly chatting about an article she was reading, Peter marched back into the room, his hands on his hips. 

“ _ Okay _ , can we go now?” he pleaded, poking out his bottom lip and activating his very best puppy dog eyes that Tony could never turn down. 

Pepper chuckled at the kid, and Tony sighed, “Alright, alright- let's go wait in the lobby for Hap, I’m sure he’s almost here.”

Which, in fact, Happy was already waiting outside much to Peter’s excitement and Tony’s slight dismay. Peter was talking a mile a minute as he clambered into his booster seat, letting Tony slide in next to him and adjust the seatbelt strap as he clicked it into place. Pepper took the outside seat, and once Peter had insisted that everyone buckle up for safety, they were headed to Midtown Elementary. 

☼

There were children  _ everywhere _ . Some were dashing into the school surprisingly without an adult’s presence, while others were practically being dragged kicking and screaming. Happy got out to hug the boy and wish him a good day, and the kid babbled excitedly about how excited he was to use his new markers. Peter was nearly vibrating as they walked away from the car, both Pepper’s and Tony’s hands clasped in his own where he walked between them. When he was younger, he would always insist on being swung into the air by the two, but clearly, as a new kindergartener, he considered himself far too big for that. Tony could feel his heart beating erratically in his chest, and he held Peter’s hand just a tiny bit tighter in attempts to soothe himself. 

Peter’s classroom was quite easy to find with teachers standing in the halls and pointing them in the right direction. It was simply the second hallway down the main hall, and it was the third door on the left. Peter was quick to point at the bright and colorful sign hanging from the ceiling just outside the doorway. 

“Miss. Stucker! It’s right here, Daddy-” he tugged on their hands, rushing forward happily to meet the young brunette standing in the doorway to greet her new students. 

Tony had of course met her before, and she waved invitingly at them as they approached. 

“Peter, Mr. Stark! A pleasure to see you guys again!” her smile was warm and her voice was genuine, and Tony knew Peter would be in good hands, but it only made his stomach churn nervously. 

Peter released Tony and Pepper’s hands in favor of holding it out to his teacher, “Hello again, Miss. Stucker! It’s good to see you too!” 

Always the charmer. Miss. Stucker shook Peter’s hand with a laugh, and she held her hand out to Pepper as well, “Hello, you must be Peter’s mother?” 

Pepper made a choked sort of laugh, shaking Miss. Stucker’s outstretched hand, “Oh no, I’m- family friend-”

“That’s my Aunt Pepper,” Peter informed helpfully. “She’s gonna help me set up my desk just like she helps my Daddy with his desk, ‘cept she says she thinks I can keep mine more organized because Daddy has the attention span of a-”

“ _ Okay,  _ tiger,” Tony planted his hand on top of Peter’s head to ruffle his curls. “Let’s not spill my trade secrets. My desk is very organized, thank you.” 

“Because of Auntie Pepper,” Peter giggled. 

The young teacher simply laughed, stepping backwards into the classroom, “I’m going to love having you in my class, Peter. Come on inside, your desk is over by the whiteboard, I believe. You go ahead and get comfy, I’m going to greet your fellow classmates!”

Peter thanked her politely, and then he was seizing Pepper and Tony’s hands once more and dragging them toward his desk. 

Tony wasn’t sure if he had ever seen such tiny chairs, but he snagged a spare to pull up next to Peter’s desk as the boy immediately began unloading the contents of his backpack into it. He offered the seat to Pepper, who declined, before he straddled it backwards to watch his kid happily prepare for his first day. 

There were several other parents and kids in the room as well, unpacking and sorting through their things. Pepper of course set to work helping Peter, and Tony fondly watched his son organize his folders by which ones were his favorite. His Stark Industries folder was on top, which made Tony’s heart swell. 

Truthfully, it was kindergarten, and aside from notebooks, pencils, and markers, Peter didn’t have a whole lot to unload. Tony had already sent the school a six month supply of hand sanitizer, tissue boxes, all the things that sticky little kindergarteners could need. With that being as it was, Peter had his desk organized in no time, just in time for the bell to ring outside in the hallway to signify school was starting. 

Tony had truthfully been spacing in and out, his eyes darting around the room at all the colorful posters of shapes and the alphabet. As he was snapped back to the reality that he was going to have to  _ leave _ Peter in the classroom, he had to grip the back of the tiny chair tightly to keep himself from scooping Peter up and marching right out of the school. But Peter was  _ more _ than ready, and Tony- Tony was  _ not _ . 

Several children were already crying in the classroom, tearfully being peeled off of their parents as Miss. Stucker tried to console them and direct their attention elsewhere. Peter had a frown on his normally smiling face as he watched the other kids around him and he turned to look at his dad and Pepper. 

“Do you guys have to leave now, too?”

Tony was out of his chair and kneeling in front of Peter for a hug in an instant, and Pepper ran her hand over Peter’s head soothingly, “If that’s okay with you, bud?” 

“We can stay as long as you need,” Tony immediately assured as Peter burrowed in for a hug. 

The man couldn’t help but cling on tight, resting his head atop Peter’s and swallowing hard. Peter, on the other hand, patted Tony’s back where his little arms stretched around Tony’s shoulders. 

“It’s okay, Daddy, I’m not scared.” 

_ Fuck _ , Tony clenched his jaw to stave off the burn in his throat, “Brave boy.”

Even Pepper was dabbing at her eyes as Peter moved to hug her next. He was completely calm, offering them both a large grin, “See you after school?” 

“We’ll meet you right at your classroom door to pick you up, Petey,” Pepper promised, planting a kiss on his forehead. The little boy kissed her cheek in return, and then he was throwing himself back into Tony’s arms for one last hug. Tony hadn’t had the strength to stand back up yet anyway, and he was more than willing to cling on to Peter a little bit longer. 

But, Peter eventually pulled back and smiled largely at his dad, “I’m gonna check out a book from the library today and bring it home for us to read!” 

“Sounds great, buddy,” Tony said softly. 

Pepper held her hand out to Tony, and he climbed to his feet to link arms with her. However, he paused to plant one last kiss on top of Peter’s head. Despite all of the crying or sniffling children around him, Peter was still beaming excitedly, and he turned back to his desk to sort through his markers some more. 

“I think that’s our cue to go, Tones,” Pepper murmured to the frozen man, gently tugging at his arm to get him moving. 

“Yeah, right, I- I love you Petey, see you after school.” 

“Love you, too, Daddy!” Peter returned, but he didn’t turn back around to face them. 

Walking out of the classroom without Peter felt… absurd. Obviously Tony knew it wasn’t, that it was normal to leave a child at school, but Peter still seemed small- like he was a head shorter than the rest and what if the other kids were  _ mean _ to him about it and-

“He’s gonna be fine, Tony,” Pepper assured as they walked back down the hall to the exit. “See, there was nothing to worry about.”

Tony was immensely grateful for the sunglasses atop his head that he could slide down over his eyes that were growing far too wet. He at least held it together until they got to the car, despite the growing… emptiness that swelled in his chest and bubbled up into his throat. Peter clearly hadn’t had any issue with parting for a bit, and being the parent, Tony figured he should be relieved that it had been so easy. Easy on Peter, at least. The second they both slid back into the car and Tony saw Peter’s empty booster seat, his resolve crumbled. 

He tossed the sunglasses into the floor and burrowed his face into his hands as tears spilled over and dripped into his neatly trimmed facial hair. Out of all the things Tony had imagined happening on Peter’s first day of school, he hadn’t imagined himself being the only one sobbing in the car after dropping off his  _ baby _ . 

Neither Happy nor Pepper even questioned it. Rather, Pepper’s hand rubbed softly at his back, pulled him toward her to rest his head against her shoulder as he hiccuped our weak protests. Even so, he gave in and soaked the shoulder of her blouse. 

“I knew it would be hard but I didn’t know it would be  _ this _ hard,” Tony truthfully felt like he was blubbering, but he could no longer be bothered. 

“Tony,” Pepper chuckled sadly, running a hand over the man’s hair. “It’s eight hours - half the time you’ll be working too and the time will fly by. It’s gonna get easier. Peter is such a smart little boy, he’s come so far from the shy toddler that would cry when you left for work every morning.”

Which was true. If Peter had cried over parting, it would have made things so much harder. Granted, if Peter had even sniffled in the slightest Tony would have stayed right by his baby’s side until the boy was ready. 

“What if he needs me and I’m not there?” Tony croaked. 

“That’s part of learning,” Pepper assured. “You can’t be there every time, but you will be there as soon as you can be, you’ll be there when it matters, and Peter knows that.” 

It made sense, Tony figured, but it didn’t mean it made his chest ache any less. For the remainder of the day, Tony was truthfully a nervous wreck. He made sure his phone was on loud in case the school called, tried to busy himself with tinkering but to no avail. Pepper stayed with him as well to help try and distract him, but the downside was that she also wouldn’t allow him to call the school himself and check up on his kid. 

Three o’clock took forever to come around, and Tony was  _ maybe _ already outside the school at two to wait. But when it finally came time to meet at Peter’s classroom door, Tony wasn’t sure he had ever moved so fast in his life. Pepper had a hard time keeping up with him as he speed walked down the hallways. 

And much to his joy, Peter was standing eagerly in a line of kids waiting to be picked up. The second the boy spotted his father, he was ducking under his teacher’s arm and racing for his dad. 

Tony scooped him up immediately, that little, or large rather, piece of his heart that had felt like it was misplaced was back and throwing his arms around Tony. 

“Daddy!” Peter cried happily. “I missed you…”

He simply hugged the boy tighter, “Geez, Petey, I missed you, too. Pepper isn’t quite as good of company as you are.” 

“Hey!” Pepper laughed as she finally caught up. With a knowing hand on Tony’s back, she leaned in to kiss Peter’s temple. “It’s true, Pete, I just can’t be the lego building partner for your dad that you can be.” 

Peter pulled back to plant a hand on Tony’s cheek, searching his father’s face, “Were you sad without me?” 

“Pfff, me?” Tony scoffed, but his face softened after a moment as he nodded. “I know you’ll always come back to me when I miss you too much- so maybe not super sad.” 

Peter nodded in agreement, “Always. I was kin’a sad, but I made a friend named Ned and he an’ I found a cool book about building an airplane and we’re gonna make it so I can always come to you super fast when I miss you a lot.” 

Tony’s heart swelled, and he scrunched his nose to fight the burn in his eyes, “Think there’s room for your old man to help you build?”

“Duh!” Peter giggled. 

Miss. Stucker greeted Tony then, telling him how wonderful and polite Peter was- and of course, Tony knew that Peter was an absolute angel of a child. Peter clung to Tony as they said farewell to his new teacher, Peter promising to see her the next day, and then they were headed back to their car, Tony carrying Peter and Pepper carrying Peter’s backpack. 

“Uncle Rhodey is gonna meet us at the house, I think he’s bringing you a first day of school present,” Tony informed Peter. 

“Okay, but I wanna spend time with you, too, Daddy,” Peter replied happily. 

“‘Course, bud, I’m all yours,” Tony agreed. 

It had been an excessively long day, a stressful one for that matter, but Tony knew it was going to get easier- and seeing Peter learn fun new things and make new friends, that would make all the worry and stress worth it. And, after all, Peter and Tony were on the exact same page. Whenever they were apart, they’d be back together in no time, and they’d be there for each other  _ always.  _ Plus, if Tony got super tight hugs and extra Peter cuddles after they’d been apart all day, he figured the whole school thing was worth it after all. 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry this took so long to get out, but you know... life and stuff. I hope it’s okay and doesn’t seem too rushed! I just really needed Tony being an emotional wreck, a dash of separation anxiety on HIS part when it comes to his baby boiiii Petey.


End file.
